Alan Polnariev, PharmD, MS, CGP

Alan Polnariev, PharmD, MS, is a board-certified pharmacist committed to improving patient safety by championing pharmaceutical outcomes research and policy. He received his PharmD from Long Island University and a master’s degree in Patient Safety and Risk Management from the University of Florida, where he currently serves as a clinical assistant instructor for several courses in the school’s Master of Science program. Dr. Polnariev has provided consulting services for various pharmacy organizations, including the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and Institute for Safe Medication Practices.

The next time you see a bucket of chicken, I hope you reminds you my absolute favorite pneumonic device and how you can begin to work towards any goal you set out to achieve. Fortunately, this acronym is easy to remember and seen all over the world with signs of a global food franchise: Kentucky Fried Chicken, otherwise known as KFC.

Many students and colleagues have asked for my thoughts on pursuing education after pharmacy school. Although the simple answer can be ?Education never hurts,? graduate school is expensive?very expensive. And with the lack of substantial and reliable data coming from schools on how well their students perform financially after graduating, it can be nearly impossible to figure out whether taking out thousands of dollars in loans or depleting your life savings will pay dividends in the long run. To state the obvious (or at least the important), a larger salary doesn?t always translate to more happiness or greater satisfaction with one?s career, though these are major reasons that individuals do pursue graduate degrees.

As we celebrate Veterans Day this month, I�d like to tell you about an excellent book entitled Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win.1 In it, the authors, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin share their hard-hitting, Navy SEAL combat stories that translate into lessons on teamwork and leadership for personal and professional life. I think these teachings can easily be applied to health care, especially for pharmacists who may be working with other health care providers on a clinical care team or leading a staff of pharmacy employees.